SXR The End

Melmack

Melmack

(Timothy)
Location
New Braunfels, TX
Here's what kills me...

My two boys, 8 and 2 years old, my daughter -1week. That's what kills me. Without new skis to replenish the used parts sector, our sport will die, eventually. These are not classic cars that where mass produced and widely popular. Most people don't know much about stand ups at all. The sport has been helped greatly by the WEB but without Kawi and Yamaha producing and advertising them, we can forget about the Idea of taking out our kids on theses things and watching them pass the great sport on for generations. It's a very sad time indeed. Makes a father cry.

Obama, Pelosi, EPA and Left wing bastards, even Nixon. Hope you don't cross my path. I'll have a few words for you hypercritical, tyrannical Bastards!

I fault the EPA and our overgrown corrupt government the most but the manufactures are to blame as well. They have been promoting couches for years, leaving us behind. For some reason, Kawi and Yamaha kept raising the price of their skis dramatically even when cost to produce stayed relatively level. They blamed it on low sales. However, they stopped advertising on TV 20 years ago. I was hearing the "They still make those?" Comments in the mid '90s. Maybe if they had done more in the peak '90s to keep the sport alive we wouldn't be in this position. Instead, they promoted the big and IMO more dangerous couches. They ramped up the production of those. They developed expensive 250+ HP four strokes and did nothing but piss off every boater, fisherman and skier on the lake in doing so. What did they do for us? SXR. Whohoo! Nothing like a 380lbs turd for wave jumping! How bout Yamaha? Thanks for the new and improved, less slippery rear end that us free riders all crave! Whoot! And only $8995 too! It's the manufacturers who left us behind a long time ago. Not even sure why they kept making skis at all.

Personally, I saw this demise coming in 96 when Kawasaki first killed the SXi pro and announced the end of skis back then. I thought of producing my own skis but found out very soon how difficult that would be. Fortunately, we have the aftermarket industry that has exploded in the last 2-3 years. Thank you to all the companies and entrepreneurs that have kept the sport advancing.

Let's just hope for the best, and vote for the best. Our only hope of keeping this sport alive is for someone out there to develop a motor that appeases these EPA jerks. I doubt we'll see these laws repealed anytime soon. Fuel injection was the answer, so I thought. That bombed. It seems to me that a 100hp four stroke on pump 92 could be made that is light enough, cheap enough and EPA friendly.

Why did the industry leave us behind? We are what started it all. I don't get it.

Sad day indeed!
 
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eeerieski

eeerieski

Location
NW PA
What ever happened to direct injection? It makes soooo much less pollutants than carbed 2-strokes. Do manufacturers know that we are clumsy and sink our skiis more often than any other boating sport? 4-strokes are dead for a long time after they get submerged.

What components are not available aftermarket without using oem base parts that are required to make a standup?

driveshaft
bearing carrier
crankshaft
coupler
stator
various ebox components
full size fuel tank (aluminum can be made but not cost effective)

And that's seriously all I can think of, add to the list if you can think of anything.
 
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OCD Solutions

OCD Solutions

Original, Clean and Dependable Solutions
Location
Rentz, GA
I think some of you guys are over reacting. Name one thing that has gone away and stayed away without being replaced by something better? Yamaha and Kawasaki will return with models when the economy returns. There is just no payback in the R&D to develop them at this moment.

P.S. I can't say much because i don't know much but i am aware of a new powerplant under development that will satisfy EPA and our requirements. :sneaky:
 
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SuperJETT

SuperJETT

So long and thanks for all the fish
Location
none
OCD Solutions said:
I think some of you guys are over reacting. Name one thing that has gone away and stayed away without being replaced by something better?
Click to expand...

3-wheelers, gone and replaced by 4-wheelers, aka, sitdowns, because they are more stable and easier to ride.
 
eeerieski

eeerieski

Location
NW PA
SuperJETT said:
3-wheelers, gone and replaced by 4-wheelers, aka, sitdowns, because they are more stable and easier to ride.
Click to expand...

and LESS dangerous, couches otoh are MORE dangerous, or at least that's what someone else said.....and I agree because any moron can ride a couch, only those that are all there the head can ride a standup
 
tumblingtwerp9

tumblingtwerp9

Location
Fayetteville, Ga
ATS_Aaron said:
Yes, and no. What advantage did a "new" Superjet offer over a used one? Previous to 2008, why wouldn't I buy a clean used 1996 RN over a brand new 2007. In fact that is what I did. I bought a 1999 and saved myself $4000.00 over new and gave up how many features? NONE. It's the manufacturer's own fault in my opinion.

Two ways to look at it, either a) Yamaha made it too perfect in 1996 and didn't have room to grow or b) Yamaha quit investing in it in ~1999 save for graphics changes.

The 2008 hull was a big deal, but without a nice bump in horsepower who really cared?

Yamaha was like - oh you like the Superjet for freestyle and general low speed handling....OK, GREAT here's a new hull that offers zero advantages to you.

Seriously, how much would it have cost Yamaha to put a 760 in their ski? Zero dollars. How much to buy 100 B-pipes from Factory pipe to add to that 760 and make a 100 hp "stock" Superjet? $500 per ski? Or less if you subtract the new cost of the stock exhaust parts. The B-Pipe has already been proven reliable enough to be a factory stock part (Polaris Octane). While making the new 2008 top deck, why not add features people want like Rickter style footholds that could be removed and replaced with block-offs to keep the ski race legal.

I don't know SX-R's at all, but Kawasaki KNOWS how to sell out of Ultra 250's each year...just add 10 more hp. Supposedly they are introducing yet another "new" ski at World Finals..oh let me guess - the Ultra 270.....

Nice play Kawasaki - the SX-R has been dead since the year after it came out.

The fact is that The SX-R (and presumably the Superjet soon) are dead because we don't need them. Heck, half of us don't even want them.

Know what Yamaha could sell - hull fulfillment kits: brackets, straps, bolts, bed plates, driveshafts, midshafts, waterbox, pumps, etc. all in one box for one (reasonable) price.

My ski has like 9 Yamaha parts left on it and half of them are available in the aftermarket: the outer pump housing (insides are Magnum), the wear ring, driveshaft, midshaft, start/stop switch, bed plates, cases, tank straps and brackets.

Sadly, the only place this effects me for years to come is when idiots at the boat ramp ask "Do they still make those?"

Aaron
Click to expand...

Actually its not a 270 its the first 300 horsepower ski sorry off topic. back to your regular programming.
 
Tyler Zane

Tyler Zane

Open Your Eyes
Location
Panama City Beach, FL
i refuse to think the end of stand ups is near. i think a lot of people are over reacting. we dont need a single oem part, there are enough people creating parts that will cover down imo.
 
kevbo

kevbo

Location
dfw
May the demand for hulls will increase enough to attract some more experienced boat builders that can get by on less markup.
 
SuperJETT

SuperJETT

So long and thanks for all the fish
Location
none
tzane said:
i refuse to think the end of stand ups is near. i think a lot of people are over reacting. we dont need a single oem part, there are enough people creating parts that will cover down imo.
Click to expand...

I've been riding for 19 years now and have seen the sport dwindle more and more.

When I started, there was the 300, 440, 550, 650, X-2, Super Jet. Within a couple of years, the 750 and FX-1 came out plus VHP550 and Laser Jet F-14/15. When you went riding, you were certain to see another standup.

Fast forward to today...
 
SuperJETT

SuperJETT

So long and thanks for all the fish
Location
none
WILKEY said:
all you :):):)s are smokin crack if ya think the jet skiin world will end
Click to expand...

It won't end, but will probably die off substantially. The problem is the EPA regs won't allow new skis to be sold here from what I understand, so even if some company like X-Scream or Waterdawg or whoever wanted to, they wouldn't be able to build a complete ski for sale. Yes there are ways around it, but how many people are going to jump through those hoops for how long?
 
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